New Richmond Police Chief Karl Hassebrock has his announced plans to retire.

In a resignation letter read in council chambers at the Aug. 22 meeting, Hassebrock said that he has appreciated the opportunity to serve as the police chief and will miss the friends he has made over the years.

“I am very proud of the loyalty and dedication of the underpaid and often underappreciated New Richmond village police officers,” he said. “In a sometimes thankless job, they are to be commended for their decency and hard work.”

Hassebrock was born in Dayton, Ky. and raised in Bond Hill. After graduating from New Woodward High School in 1959, he joined the navy. He spent the next three years stationed aboard a ship in the far east (including a one year stint on the Pacific island of Midway).

Upon ending his military service at the age of 21, without seeing combat, he became interested in the insurance investigation business and worked in that field for 5 years.

His law enforcement career began in October 1968.

“One day, I was just driving around listening to the radio,” he remembers. “I heard that the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office was giving exams to people interested in becoming police officers. I took the exam, passed it, and worked there for the next 32 years.”

Hassebrock, who lives in Anderson Township with his wife Sandra, joined the New Richmond Police Department in 2001.

Hassebrock says that his successor will be most challenged by the current financial situation faced by the village.

“Whoever takes my place will be most hampered with trying to operate the police department within the budgetary restraints of the village,” he said. “We have modernized the police department a little bit, but there is more to be done.”

Hassebrock, who likes to fish, play golf, and watch football in his spare time, will miss the associations that he has made in the past six years.

“I have enjoyed the community and I will miss everyone, but the timing is right to retire,” he said.

Hassebrock will retire at the end of October.

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